Last week, I was invited to make some benches for the brand new and beautiful Golden Garden at Melrose High School in Orange Mound. Under leader Kevin Mattice (@kjmonopoly), the math teacher there and friend of mine, organized Home Depot, Memphis Teacher Residency funds, Red Zone Memphis, Dabney Nursery, the football team, and myself to create the space of beauty and ease for the school. I am overjoyed to be permanently part of such a cool endeavor.
Here's how I did my part...
Rolling off this furniture kick I'm on, I leapt at the chance to make some benches for Kevin. We knew they needed to be water-resistant, sturdy, and pretty. For water-resistant, I chose Western Red Cedar, whose properties are naturally so, while planning to add a coat of waterseal on top. Sturdy and pretty came together out of much research. We decided to tweak a design called the "Palisade Bench" by landscapeforms to make it more cost effective and a little more personal.
Once the date was given, I set off to grab the lumber and begin assembling.
There wasn't really that much thinking to do other than making sure everything was neat and square. It kind of built itself.
Much glue was used, but it was reinforced by a.) screws tying each modular section (leg-bar-leg) together and b.) a threaded rod tightened in each corner for extra security.
The threaded rod wound up sticking out a lot (which shows you my measuring skills) so I decided to alter the original plan to cap the rods with wooden dowels and saw it flush. The rod would still show. So I capped around it. I drilled a hole into the dowel for the rod to rest in as the cap was hammered into the beam. Then it stuck out proud which gave some character to the otherwise sterile look.
After an added flower box niche in the second bench, I used Thompson WaterSeal to coat it. It looked pink at first but settled into a nice warm amber.
The final product in its proper home. Yes, those trees, boulders, rocks, flowers, and mulch were moved in. I had the easy job.
Garden photos by Kevin Mattice.